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Nothing
Nothing is a tiefling rogue and oncetime warlock from the small town of Red Larch. Jailed in Session One for yet another petty theft from a local's larder, Nothing aided the party with her knowledge of the town and its inhabitants during the investigation of the suspicious note found during their community service. She's considered herself the de facto party leader ever since, even though she really isn't, and needs rescuing by the rest of the party on a regular basis. Personality Nuth is, to put it plainly as can be, a gobby little shit. Used to getting her way through arcane temper tantrums and looking Real Scary when she wants to, she's often more bark than she is bite. Not a great forwards-thinker, Nothing tends to react rather than plan. For this reason, tact and discretion are not always her strongest suit - she's prone to blurting out things she perhaps shouldn't, or snapping back at people who've done something to piss her off. It's also why she's the party member who gets herself hurt so often - Nuth does not always consider the potential consequences to charging head-first at her problems. (She has got better at this, but not by much.) Though she would never admit it outright, Nothing craves positive attention, especially from people she admires. Growing up in an environment where she's treated with fear and hostility at worst, and as the village oddity at best, she's stoked as hell whenever people's treatment of her exceeds these expectations. She hates appearing weak, and would rather get mad than upset - she'll deny crying even if it's plainly obvious that she is. She's fiercely protective of her fellow waifs and strays, whether they're her street-flock of honorary siblings or just other kids in the same boat as her. Mess with them, you mess with her, end of. Background Left on the doorstep of the Red Larch church as an infant, Nothing's early life was as troubled as a devil-child raised by the devout can be expected. After several years of strife for both her and her pious carers (they made their first mistake in naming the child Faith, and it only went downhill from there), she ran away to instead steal and scavenge on Red Larch's streets, changing her name to Nothing out of a mixture of petty spite and self-deprecation. She fell in with the handful of other waifs and strays in the town, quickly falling into the role of older sister - as the eldest and tallest, she felt it made sense. Much as she preferred life without the constant stifling expectations of the churchfolk, she had traded one bad situation for another. Sleeping on street corners sucks. And beyond that, she'd always been an object of curiosity and faint distrust to some members of the community, but in the care of the church she had been protected. Now she was not, and if Red Larch's rowdy halfling teens felt like taking a pop at the village oddity to make themselves feel big, who was there to stop them? (This isn't to say Nothing didn't pick plenty of fights of her own, but she was prone to lose them more often than not.) It was after one such altercation that she was offered a way out - no more lying in alleyways tending to her broken ribs and bruises. A presence reached out to Nothing, and laid out a deal: her soul, a trifling thing, in exchange for power that would ensure no-one with sense would dare lay a hand on her and hers again. (And power that would help her feed them, too. Subtler arts.) She said yes, of course. Her soul was already hellbound, right? What's the worst that could happen? From there on in, life got easier and brighter. With the unseen presence whispering into the back of her mind, she learned to unlock doors from the other side and to charm the townsfolk into offering her a seat at their own dinnertable. And the swaggering halfling lads thought twice about messing with her when she brandished a staff glowing with dark fire and shot a blast of scarlet arcane energy into the alley wall behind their heads. The townsfolk didn't question her newfound powers - to them, magic was magic and the kid had always been able to do strange tricks. And so she and her motley crew of halfling kids happily made a nuisance of themselves. The magistrate got well used to finding Nuth in the courthouse, rolling her eyes as she pled guilty to "nickin' some stuff" time and time again. Try as the townsfolk (and the magistrate) might to coax Nuth into honest work, unless the kids could work with her too, she wasn't having any of it. And on one sweltering summer's day, she found herself jailed for the umpteenth time. Nickin' stuff' again, obviously. But this time, she'd landed among some curious cellmates indeed... Appearance Nothing is a short, scrawny tiefling girl, standing at only 4'11' even with the horns included. Her infernal heritage shows in her freckled red skin, curved horns and long, tapered tail. Also the subtly pointed incisors. (Her right horn, notably, has a subtle kink in it - she's unsure if she was born with the aberration or if it's the result of perhaps some knock in infanthood as it was growing.) Her hair is violet-black, kept roughly nape-length but otherwise unkempt and slightly lank - she doesn't take care of it beyond cutting it with a dagger when it gets too long, and considers getting rained on to be a 'wash'. Nuth typically wears a simple tunic with trousers and a cape, with simple elements of leather armor worn either under or over them as necessary. Most of her Arc 1 items of clothing are things she's owned for years or have been stolen from others, so much of it is ill-fitting. She prefers flared sleeves, all the better to hide objects she's secretly palming. Scars * Gained in Session Two in an altercation with demon hunters, a nasty scar on the left side of her waist. * Gained in Session Eight on the road to Fryberg, an arrow-wound scar in her right shoulder. * As of Session Sixteen after her encounter with the Wretch, a scar on her right temple - a livid circle of scar tissue covering a deep indentation as large as a copper piece. * Gained in Session Seventeen while trying to shake off the grip of a quasit - a row of deep scratches down her right thigh. Relationships Faeleth: Nothing's relationship with Faeleth is complicated, thanks to the matter of Faeleth murdering her parents. It's a mess of contradictions and conflicted feelings, because on the one hand ''parent murder, ''on the other hand Faeleth is everything Nothing kind of wishes she was - and could Nuth truly say that in her situation she'd have done anything differently? As such, her interactions with Faeleth tend to flip-flop, unable to quite decide whether she still resents Faeleth for what she did, or if she's seeking out some kind of connection with the only person who really knows anything about where she came from. (Also, Faeleth just ''keeps ''saving Nuth's life, over and over and over, the first to rush to her aid. She's pretty sure she'd be dead several times over if not for her.) It's so goddamn complicated. Tsalta: Spindleshanks: Nuth took to Spindle immediately, bringing him quickly under her wing as an honorary sibling figure. His feral nature amused her greatly, and she observed his strange, gross quirks with fascination and delight. Spindle's determination to rush wildly into danger exasperated her, but she was among the first to chase after him whenever he did. Of all the party, she likely took his death the hardest, unable to rest until she delivered the vengeance she swore to him. She continues to keep one of his darts on her person as a token of his memory. Fergus: Nuth doesn't yet know quite what to make of Fergus - he's chill with petty crime, so that's fine, but his tendency to stick his foot in his mouth on highly emotionally-charged issues (namely Spindle's death) did little to endear him to her. He's okay, she guesses. He's kind of a Generic Grownup as far as she's concerned. Sweet Loot, Items, Inventory Etc. * Wand of the Pact Keeper Gifted to her by Bobby after he purchased it at Albert’s store and found it to not work for him. Makes those good spells gooder. Unfortunately no longer of any use to her, as it ceased to work when Mammon revoked his patronship. * ”The Fancy-Ass Ring”/Corrupt Wish Ring Found among some abandoned belongings in a cave. Briefly stolen by Faeleth and then returned under the pretext of having “found it”. Its properties are unknown to Nothing or any other PC, their only understanding of it is that it is a “powerful magic item”. Unconsciousnesses and Major Injuries Session One * Stabbed in the side by a demon hunter for over half her total health in a single blow. It definitely scarred. Session Two * Triggered a Magic Missile trap, was thrown across the room into a door, cracking her head against it and falling unconscious. Failed at least one death saving throw before a potion was administered by Holgar at Faeleth's demand. Session Four * Failed to notice a trio of falling darkmantles until one engulfed her head. Asphyxiated until unconscious. Saved by Faeleth and Tsalta. Session Eight * Shot in the shoulder for over half her health with a goblin arrow. Another thing that definitely scarred. Session Ten * Reached into a Bag of Devouring, twice. No injuries were sustained, nor was Nothing aware of any danger. Regardless, a near-death experience. Session Sixteen * Attacked by the Wretch, which attempted to bore a hole in her skull and came very close to succeeding. Healed by Tsalta, but only so much could be repaired: a heavily indented scar remains. Category:PCs